Cardiff City's first Premier League game for four years ended in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, with goals from Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson proving enough to down the Bluebirds.

There were a number of talking points to emerge from what proved a lively encounter on the south coast.

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Yes, Cardiff were largely outclassed for most of the game, but this needs to be seen as an important yard-stick for Warnock's players.

The Yorkshireman himself knows all too well what's required in the Premier League, but a vast majority of his squad have never played top flight football. Inexperience is often mercilessly punished in the big time.

This was a useful exercise, far more useful than a hiding off one of the league's big guns would've been, and every single player in that dressing room will now have a far better idea on what's required to stay in this division.

The doom and gloom mongers may well start piping up, but if anything that will only serve to motivate Warnock, who's made a tidy living out of proving people wrong.

Sean Morrison looks set to make the most of his Premier League chance

Eddie Howe's Bournemouth was similarly written off when they were first promoted and in many ways the Cherries boss is something of a kindred spirit when it comes to sticking one in the eye of the doubters.

“I think they can achieve anything they want to," he said after the game.

"This league is so tough and so unforgiving and they will find that out in the season I’m sure at some stages, but there’s unique things about them - A way of playing that they stick to and they’ve got a really good team spirit, you can see that by the way they play, and a really experienced manager.

“Of course, the supporters will play a huge part for them in their home ground. So they’ve got a lot of things going for them.

Having had a taste of the big time with Reading, captain Sean Morrison is clearly determined not to let the opportunity to shine in the Premier League pass him by.

Not that we should be surprised, Morrison commented in the summer that he "always believed" he would be back in the Premier League.

“It’s taken me four years and has been a hard slog, but I am excited about the challenge ahead and we will all be ready for it," he said.

“I played a handful of games for Reading at Premier level, but it’s something I am proud of. It puts me in a place where I know what we are going to face."

The skipper clearly has no intention of another top flight exile. Playing at the highest level has clearly been a massive driver in Morrison's career and it's that fire that could prove crucial when things start getting messy. It's everything you want in a captain.

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Cardiff City lose at Bournemouth

Cardiff struggled to deal with tempo set by the hosts for much of the game, and there was a noticeable absence of anyone capable of holding the ball up and taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

Bobby Reid was left isolated up front for large parts of the game, and doesn't really have the attributes needed to be an effective target man, winning just one aerial duel all afternoon.

Kenneth Zohore is sometimes criticised for his lack of goals, but there's no question that he's by far the best man for the job in this Cardiff squad.

Cardiff, rightly or wrongly, don't have a reputation for playing 'pretty' possession-based football anyway. Indeed, their *ahem* 'direct' approach was arguably one of their biggest strengths last season - and had the added joy of infuriating rival teams and their fans.

Warnock revelled in it all as much as anyone, but he'll need to be a bit more clever this season as one-dimensional sides very quickly get found out in the Premier League.

Zohore will hopefully return for the visit of Newcastle, but the defeat on the south coast suggested Cardiff may sometimes need to find another way of winning if they are to survive in this league.

The introduction of Josh Murphy hinted that Cardiff are capable of doing it, and in Reid, Junior Hoilett and Callum Paterson they have attacking players of genuine quality.

But without a strong target man, the rough and ready approach of last season fell a little flat at the Vitality Stadium. This is an almighty step up and what you can get away with in the Championship is often punished in the Premier League.

Bearing all that in mind, building a system that plays to the strengths of Cardiff's attacking talents in Zohore's absence will be a big challenge, but don't bet against Warnock pulling it off.

Cardiff City's Aron Gunnarsson is set for another spell on the sidelines

Gunnarsson's injury woes becoming a concern

It's never fair to criticise a player for getting injured, but nevertheless, the amount of time Aron Gunnarsson is spending in the treatment room has to be a concern.

The Iceland captain missed 28 games last season with his various injury troubles and he now looks set to miss out on at least the next two of this one, with his boss confirming that he'll be out for around two weeks.

It arguably brings the acquisitions of Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa into even sharper focus as without that pair, Warnock would certainly be looking short of potential midfield options.

Warnock will have his own ideas on what the reason may be for Gunnarsson's injury troubles, but whatever it is, it's a problem that will need to be solved, particularly given that the Iceman is one of only a handful of players boasting that precious, precious Premier League experience.

It has to be said. Sol Bamba was woeful in the defensive midfield role, but to be fair, it's never been a position where he's ever shone - barring that freak performance against Leeds United last season.

Warnock himself admitted that his presence in front of the back four wasn't ideal, but leaped to his defence after the game.

"I mean if I'd had a choice I wouldn't have played in midfield but I didn't have much choice today. But I thought he did well overall."

Those comments probably tell you more about Warnock's approach to protecting his players rather than Bamba's actual performance as there's surely no way that he could actually believe those words.

Not that he's ever really been the type of manager to publicly criticise his players, although given the lack of options in the middle, Warnock's probably unlikely to have dished out too much of a rollicking in the dressing room either.

Arter, ineligible for the trip to his parent club, is likely to be drafted in for the visit of Newcastle next weekend, so you'd expect Bamba to slot back into the centre-back role - where he really belongs.

Cardiff City have signed Harry Arter on loan from Bournemouth (Image: Cardiff City FC)

But Bamba's poor performance was by no means the only reason for Cardiff's shortcomings in midfield.

Joe Ralls wasn't given nearly enough protection, denying him the chance to pull the strings in the middle of the park, and although he showed some very encouraging signs, Paterson is still not quite a Premier League player.

None of these players have been in the top flight before, and the addition of an experienced head like Arter could well have a positive effect.